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WILKES-BARRE — Jonathan Drach had a few decades to prepare for his first head coaching job.

Wilkes football’s ninth and newest head coach can remember riding the bus as a 4-year-old with his father, Buck, to watch him coach high school games. Buck — a 2011 inductee to the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame — quickly became “idolized” by his son, who eventually got the chance to play for him.

When Jon’s playing career ended as Western Michigan’s quarterback, the two then became co-workers. For two years, Jon would wake up at 4 a.m. to work in the business world before heading to the Chicago suburbs in the afternoon to assist on his dad’s coaching staff.

That led to an 11-year tenure as Hobart’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and, finally, to Thursday — the day Drach was introduced as Wilkes’ next coach during a news conference at the Marts Center. His first year in charge of a team follows Trey Brown’s four-year run, in which the Colonels went 7-33 overall and 0-10 last season.

“(Buck’s) somebody that’s a huge mentor of mine,” Drach said following his formal introduction by Vice President of Student Affairs Paul Adams, President Patrick Leahy and Athletic Director Adelene Malatesta. “My dad already said, ‘You’re in the family business.’ ... We’re going to do things the right way. Just get a little better every day.”

Here are five takeaways from Drach’s introduction.

1. Drach quickly knew he’d be a coach. After two years of the early mornings for his day job, he realized he’d rather make coaching his full-time career. He said working with his dad “really put that fire under me.”

“Early on, honestly, I wanted to be a position coach. I wanted to learn. I wanted to be a coordinator,” Drach said. “Then I got to the point in my career now with my family and whatnot that I want to run my own program. This was an amazing opportunity to do that.”

2. The Colonels’ offense can be flexible. At Hobart, Drach’s Statesmen recently rewrote the school’s passing records, including in completion percentage, yards and touchdowns. But he noted that the success came with an All-American quarterback and receiver; years before, the Statesmen leaned on running when they had a stud tailback.

“You have to be versatile” at this level, Drach said. “The kids are going to do what they’re able to do. For us to be successful, we really have to play to their best attributes.”

3. Since his collegiate playing days, Drach’s adopted a philosophy to “get your 1-percent,” or improve a little bit every day, on or off the field. He added Buck’s family were first-generation immigrants from Germany who worked sun-up til sundown on a farm, and Drach grew up with that same process-driven mindset, too.

“That’s how your crops grow, and it’s no different here. That’s how our kids are going to grow,” he said. “Make your best a little bit better every day. ... If you have a blue-collar attitude, you’re going to feel at home with Wilkes football.”

4. The Colonels, who used four quarterbacks last year, all get a “clean slate” with Drach. Though he’s seen some film, everyone will get to compete for a job.

“You get to impress upon me what you want me to think of you,” he said. “You have about six months to do that before camp.”

5. The classroom matters. Drach’s Hobart team averaged a 3.08 GPA last year, and he sees classroom success translating to the football field.

“At Hobart the last 11 years, my starting quarterback has had the highest GPA in our room. That’s not by accident,” he said. “That’s because that’s a person that takes care of their business.”

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